Cotton-picker.



B. G. WHITE & B. G. CALDERWOOD.

COTTON PICKER. APPLIoAIoN rILnn 00T. 2e, 1910.

N UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.

BRUCE CLARK WHITE, OF WOONSOCKET, AND BENJAMIN CRABTREE CALDERWOOD, OF VALLEY FALLS, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNORS TO PRICE-CAMPBELL COTTON PICKER CORPORATION, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE.

COTTON-PICKER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 19, 1911.

Application filed October 26, 1910. Serial No. 589,248.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Bauen CLARK WHITE, a citizen of the United States, residing at l/Voonsoeket, in the county of Providence, State of Rhode Island, and BENJAMIN CRABTREE CALDERwooD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Valley Falls, in said county and State, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton-Pickers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

Our invention relates to improvements in the lubricating devices for the fingers, and for the carriers in which they are mounted.

Our invention has especial reference to that type of cotton picker shown in B. C.

vWhites a lication Serial No. 472 908, filed PP a January 18, 1909, in which cotton-gathering fingers are thrust into cotton plants confined in a passage between two cotton-picking mechanisms, rotate therein, are withdrawn therefrom and return to be thrust again into the plants. The lingers are mounted in traveling carriers, in the interior of which are vertical shafts to transmit rotary motion through spiral gearing to said fingers. The carriers are linked together by upper and lower chains, and are provided with rollers at their ends which traverse guide tracks mounted in drums. As these numerous parts travel at high speed and have at times a considerable pressure `upon their journals, it is necessary to provide a means for automatic lubrication which will reach all operative parts.

One object of our invention is to provide means for introducing lubrication to the --in- 'i .terior of all of the moving carriers con- '40 tinuously and at a desired rate from a stationary supply.

Another object of our invention is to p rovide means for distributing the lubrication to the various journals and joints of the chains, carriers, gearing and lingers.

A third object of our invention is to prevent the lubrication from escaping to the outside surface of the carriers or to the projecting parts of the fingers. The oil or grease best Inode now known to us of applying that principle, Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of two carriers and their attachments. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section of one carrier. Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal section of a finger socket and parts contained therein, at line 3--8 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the several figures of the drawings, in which similar characters of reference indicate like parts, 1 is a picking finger of which there are a number projecting from each carrier; 2 is a spiral pinion keyed to said finger; 3 is a socket secured in the opposite walls of the carrier barrel and forming a journal-bearing for one end of said spiral pinion; 4t is a bushing screwed into said socket and forming a journal-bearing for the other end of said Spiral pinion and shouldered at 5 against same to retain it endwise in the socket, said bushing being screwed against a shoulder 6 in the socket; 7 is a nut screwed into the socket 3 against. the bushing 4t, having a recess 8 formed in its inner end, and having a shoulder 9 abutting a shoulder on the finger to retain the latter endwise.

10 is a ring on the finger, rot-ating with it and adapted to throw ofl' centrifugally from its thin periphery any drops 0f oil which may reach it from the pinion 2. A hole 11 at the bottom of the socket 3 forms an outlet, whereby any oil which may'ind its way into the recess 8 or be thrown centrifugally from the ring 10 will be drained from said recess and thus be prevented from running out upon the finger through the nut 7.

The sockets 3, 3 are secured in the carrierbarrel 12 in a manner to prevent leakage of oil at the joints. There are a series of these carriers moving in an endless path. At the upper end of each is a head 13 secured therein, upon which is journaled a pinion 14 which rotates thereon by reason of its toothed engagement with the fixed rack 15. An internal gear 1G formed in the pinion 14 rotates the pinion 17 upon the vertical shaft 18. This vertical shaft has formed upon it spiral gears 19 meshing into the spiral pinions 2, 2, whereby the fingers are rotated as the carriers are moved along their path. The upwardly extending shank 20 of the head 13 also provides bearings for the bushing 21 of the chain links 22. A cam arm 23 is secured to the upper end of shank 20 whereby the carrier is turned to various angular positions as it moves along its path. A guide roller 24 journaled upon the upper end of the pinion 14 guides the upper end of the carrier along the track 25.

An oil cup 26 suppliesA oil to a wick 27 at the lower end of a tube 28. Blades 29, 29 at the top ends of the shanks 20, 2O remove each a small quantity of oil from the wick 27 as they pass under and in contact with it. The oil taken from the wick by the blade 29 liows down the interior of the head through av hole 30, to the upper socket 3, which it lubricates. The oil continues its ldownward flow through the passage 31, and from the bearings 311 the oil drains to the inner surface of the carrier-barrel 12, over which it spreads by reason of the rapid turning motion of the latter in its course. Bearings 31b are shown surrounding the upper portion of shaft 18 between the gea-r 17 and the next lower gear, and between that gear and the next lower gear 19. The oil falls down the tubular passageway into the lower passage 31 and out of an opening at the foot thereof around the upper bearing 31h, and then around the lower bearing 31h. A passageway 31a is also provided between the lower portion of head 13 and the lowermost bearing 31h, and from the passageway 31a and the spaces around the bearings the oil continues to flow around the various gearing and contiguous parts. The spiral gears 19 are in such close proximity to the inner surface of the carrier-barrel that they take therefrom drops of oil as they fiow downward along such surface. A larger portion ofthe oil flows downward through the passage 31, lubricating on its way the second spiral gear 19, thence down the surface of the shaft 18 to the third gear, and so on to the bottom, lubricating each in turn. From the spiral gears 19, 19 oil is distributed over the spiral pinions 2, 2 and their journals; the waste oil therefrom is whirled centrifugally from the fingers 1, is collected in the recess 8 and is drained therefrom through the hole 11, into the interior of the carrier-barrel and upon its interior surface, whence a portion is again taken by the spiral gears as already described. The oil finally drains from the interior of the carrier-barrel through the outlet hole 33 into a recess 34 in the pivot pin 35, whence it gathers in the hollow cup-like bushing 36 of the lower chain 37. Small oil holes fr: inthe bushing 36 are provided to conduct the oil to the rollers 38 and the said chain links.

The oil hole 30 in the head 20 is preferably filled with felt. Branch openings 39, likewise filled with felt, will cause a portion of the oil to be drawn laterally through them by capillary attraction, to the interior surface -of the chain bushing 21. Oil holes through said bushing at 40 will conduct oil to the chain links 22. Likewise the roller 24 will be lubricated through the hole 41. The two lower branch holes 39 will provide lubrication for the interior of the pinion 14; oil flowing down the shank 2O from the several holes 39 will reach and lubricate the interior gear 16, the pinion 17 and the upper bearing for the shaft 18.

The lower face of the internal gear fits against a raised surface at the margin of a flange 42 on the head 13. Within this marginal raised surface is an annular oil groove 43 drained by a hole 44 which communicates with the interior of the carrier-barrel.

The oil holes and ducts described are hereinafter referred to as oil conductors.

lWhat we claim is :n

1. ln a cotton picker, the combination of cotton-gathering fingers rotatably mounted in hollow vertical carriers; means for rotating said fingers; meansfor propelling said carriers along an endless path; an oil-saturated wick; means for supplying oil to said wick, and an edge at the top of each of said carriers contacting with said wick, the wick depending from the means for supplying it with oil into the path of said edges, and the carrier being provided with a duct that receives oil from the wick and edges, and said duct being provided with an oil exit.

2. ln a cotton picker, the combination of cotton-gathering fingers rotatably mounted in hollow vert-icalV carriers; gearing in the carriers for rotating each of said fingers; means for propelling said carriers along an endless path; an oil receptacle; means for transferring oil from said receptacle to an edge carried by each carrier, such edges being above openings into the interiors of said traveling carriers, and ducts for distributing the oil to the said gearing in the carriers.

3. ln a cotton picker, the combination of cotton-gathering 4fingers rotatably mounted in hollow traveling vertical carriers; gearing in said carriers for actuating said fingers; means for distributing oil to said gearing; a recess about each of said fingers adapted to prevent oil from issuing from the interior of said carriers along said fingers, and drains from said recesses for leading` oil therefrom back to the interior of said carriers.

4. In a cotton picker, the combination of a cotton-gathering finger rotatably mounted in a hollow, traveling, vertical carrier; gearing in said carrier for actuating said finger; means for conveying oil to said gearing; an oil-gathering recess about said finger; a ring in said recess mounted on said finger to partake of its rotation, whereby oil will be thrown from said finger centrifugally and will be prevented from flowing outward along said linger farther than said ring; and

a drain duct from said recess to the interior of said carrier.

5. In a cotton picker, the combination of cotton-gathering fingers; traveling carriers for the fingers; heads at the top of said carriers; each head having an oil hole lengthwise through it; oil-gathering means at the end of said oil-hole; lateral conductors extending therefrom adapted to distribute oil to chainlinks, rollers and gearing upon said carrier head.

6. In a cotton picker, the combination of cotton-gathering lingers mounted in a hollow finger-carrier; said carrier; a cylindrical flanged head at the top of said carrier; an internal gear rotating upon said head, its bottom face in contact with said flanged head; an oil-gathering conductor in the top surface of said flanged head having a draining duct therefrom to the interior of said hollow carrier; and means for lubricating said internal gear.

7. In a cotton picker, the combination of cotton-gathering lingers mounted in a travcling, vertical, tubular carrier; said carrier; a vertical shaft in said carrier; gears on said shaft; therewith engaging gears on said lingers; said shaft being provided with a lengthwise extending oil-receiving hole and a fixed edge projecting outwardly from the end of the carrier in line with said hole; and a dependent oil-supplying device adapted to contact with said edge when the carrier is moving.

8. In a cotton picker, the combination of cotton-gathering fingers rotatably mounted in a traveling, vertical, hollow carrier; said carrier; an endless roller-chain at the bottom of said carrier; hollow bushings in said chain; hollow pivots in said bushings and extending upward into the bottom of said carriers; means for introducing oil into the interior of said carriers at the top thereof; an oil conductor at the bottom thereof communicating through said hollow pivot with the interior of said hollow bushing; and oil conductors through the sides of said bushing for oiling the chain and its rollers.

9. In a cotton picking machine the combination of a rotatable cotton-picking linger with a chambered bearing therefor' and a centrifugally acting oil throw-off on the finger and within the chamber of the bearing, the throw-off operating to minimize the escape of oil from the bearing along the finger in the direction of the free end thereof.

In testimony whereof we have ailixed our respective signatures, in presence of two witnesses.

BRUCE CLARK WHITE. BENJAMIN RABTREE CALDERWOOD.

Witnesses as to the signature of Bruce Clark White: v

EDWARD S. BEACH, F. E. NARES.

Vitnesses as to the signature of Benjamin Crabtree Calderwood:

ALBERT J. FORD, EDGAR DICKEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

